Hey Reader,

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Today, I want to talk about how not being an executor caused my first business to fail.

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“I’ll Do It Later” Almost Ruined My Life

In 2017, I launched my first side project with friends. It was a diversity-focused magazine called SHADES—my attempt to showcase my diverse friend group and the beauty of diversity. This was the same year as the Charlottesville Rally (Boo).

But within a year, it flopped. My friends dropped the project. And honestly? I don’t blame them.

I was constantly

• Missing meetings
• Moving deadlines
• Changing directions
• Distracted by shiny-object syndrome

I’d say I was going to do something, and it wouldn’t get done. This also extended into my personal life.

I’m going to

• the gym later
• start that project this week.
• learn how to code this year
• [Important task] [later date]

Then I’d

• Get distracted by weekend plans
• Spend all my time watching TV
• Getting lost in social media

I was always committing to things in the future, but never doing them.

I taught myself that it’s ok not to follow through.

Ultimately, I wasn’t an executor... But I am an overthinker.

So I asked, “What does this mean for my future?”

I saw into the future like That’s so Raven.

• Stuck in a cubicle.
• Playing Corporate Frankie 9 to 5
• Constantly feeling like a loser
• My goals would remain dreams
• Full of regret

A perfect recipe for an unfulfilling life. And, honestly, that scared the shit out of me!

If I can’t keep my promises to myself, my goals would remain dreams.

So, I asked myself,

“What if I actually did everything I said I would?”

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The Success Equation

Success is determined by your ability to turn thoughts into actions.

Michael Seibel (ex-CEO of YC and co-founder of Twitch) said

Let me break it down into math

Success = # of smart ideas launched = The more ideas you launch, the more likely you are to succeed

Success = Intelligence (I) x Execution (E)

Intelligence = Smart Ideas/Ideas Generated = Intelligent people generate more smart ideas

• If I had 100 ideas and 50 were good, I = 50%
• If I had 100 ideas and 10 were good, I = 10%

Execution = Ideas Launched/Year = Executors complete more things in less time

• If I launched 2 ideas per year, E = 2
• If I launched 2 ideas per month, E = 24.33

Even if you're a genius (I = 90%)... But, you execute 0 ideas, success = 0.

If you're average-smart (I = 30%) and execute 12 ideas a year, success = 3.60

(My theory: ADHDers generate significantly more thoughts. If you increase the quality of those thoughts, we have a crazy advantage)

No matter how smart you are, it means nothing if you don’t ship.

Don’t wait to see someone else get rich from your great idea. It will happen!

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The Results

Once I understood this equation, I optimized for launching.

It allowed me to

• Earn my first online dollar
• Hit $1k MRR
• Close my first $2k deal
• ~4x'd my monthly revenue in a year

All my goals became a question of when, not if.

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How I Became an Executor

So, how'd I get here?

I picked a challenge and then committed to completing it.

I started easy and built the muscle like I was going to the gym.

Here are some of the challenges:

• Make my bed every day for a month
• Floss 2x per day
• Never go to bed with a dirty dish in the sink
• Email inbox zero every night
• Plan my day every night by timeboxing. Here's how​
• Get 8 hours of sleep. Here's how​
• Wake up at the same time every day
• Go to the gym 6x per week
• Write 10 comments on Reddit
• Send 900 outbounds per week

I still do all these.

Plus, I'm always building this muscle. Right now, I'm doing a 30-day AI Challenge.

Here are the simple steps

• Pick a challenge. Set a deadline. Execute
• Track that you do it daily. Here's more detail​
• If you miss it, develop a hack to ensure you do --> Ex: Not getting 8 hours of sleep --> Don't sleep next to your phone

Here's a simple tracker​

By executing, I built proof that I could do anything I put my mind to.

And, tbh, many days I feel like this:

Nothing is impossible. It might be harder, but if I can do it, so can you!

Reply "Execute" and I'll share all the ADHD Hacks I developed from my challenges.

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To succeed, you must execute

• Being an executor is more valuable than being smart
• Success = # of Smart Ideas Launched = Intelligence x Execution
• Anyone can have good ideas. Not everyone will execute
• Executing is a muscle. Start with small challenges and build up

​Song of the week​